In our current society, there are a few drugs that are not only accepted as entirely normal, but they are also pushed on us everywhere we turn. Coffee and alcohol ringing a bell? Not only are they pushed, but they are expected and encouraged. We hear all the time how wine is good for the heart and how we can actually benefit from moderate amounts of alcohol, but is this really true? A new study shows how it may be time to rethink that drink.

First of all, what exactly does “moderate” drinking mean? It seems each country has a different definition. When I’ve written articles about this in the past people have condemned me for it because, in places like Italy and France for example, wine is often consumed as much as water. In the United States, moderate consumption of alcohol means one drink per day for women and two for men. In Sweden, this number is even lower.

It is important to know that the only way you can possibly reduce your risk of alcohol-related harm to zero is to reduce your consumption to zero. Of course, everybody is different and some could face the consequences of their decision to drink, and others who haven’t taken a sip of wine in their life could still die younger than those who consume alcohol regularly.

You Do Not Need Alcohol To Be Healthy

Regardless of this, because of the purported benefits of moderate consumption, many are all too quick to use this as an excuse or as a way to justify their potentially bad habits. Many drink much more than what is considered moderate, but because the risks and negative aspects of alcohol consumption aren’t regularly brought into the conversation, often as a society we are turning a blind eye to this. If we are drinking solely because we believe it is good for our hearts, then it’s important to know that in no way do we need alcohol to keep our hearts healthy. Garlic and ginger have the same blood-thinning effects as alcohol and if you’re looking for a dose of antioxidants, then grape or pomegranate juice have got you covered.

If you are honest with yourself, how much do you drink in a week? How much do you drink at a time? Alcohol can be addictive, and because it is so heavily encouraged it can be easy to avoid looking at our alcohol consumption, paying attention to how much we are consuming and asking why we feel the need to do it in the first place.

Moderate Drinking Correlates To Shorter Life Expectancy

A recent meta-analysis published by The Lancet correlated drinking patterns with life expectancy for over 500,000 people from 19 different countries, and it found that anything over 5 drinks a week is linked to a shorter life expectancy and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. So, even a glass of wine with dinner each night may be pushing it as this would technically be 7 drinks per week. How do your habits compare with this analysis? Obviously, those who consume more alcohol are at an even greater risk. Five drinks per week is nothing for so many people who do not recognize their drinking habits as a cause for concern.

 always think of the line from Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, when I think about our current society and our relationship to alcohol,

“So long as they (the Proles) continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance. Left to themselves, like cattle turned loose upon the plains of Argentina, they had reverted to a style of life that appeared to be natural to them, a sort of ancestral pattern…Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.”

Being Conscious

Having an occasional glass of wine, a beer or cocktail every once in a while is not necessarily a bad thing, but the majority of those who choose to drink do so regularly. What is it about our lives that make us want to reach for that mind-altering beverage? Is it a form of escape from lives we are pretending to be content with? Is it a boost of confidence for those who find it difficult to be in social situations? Or is it just that everyone else is doing it?

I want to challenge anyone who is reading this to be mindful around your drinking habits and observe how are you feeling when you suddenly feel the urge to have a drink. Was it a stressful day at work? Is there a celebration to be had? There are many reasons why we drink, and I know that so many of us simply do it because everyone else is and we don’t want to be the oddball. I’m willing to bet that the more open and honest we are with ourselves around our drinking, the more we will see it as something that is offering us some form of sedation, rather than something that is uplifting us.

Much Love